The other day, I was asked by an administrator to explain in simple terms what cloud computing was. I thought about it for a second, and then said this: Your files are on your desktop computer right now, right? Well, imagine if they were out there (I pointed to the sky) and you could access them wherever you had Internet access. I further explained that using their servers instead of ours would be much more practical and safe, given that a company like Google has their own huge group of tech people and thousands of servers with secure encryption. The cloud would be like a big bubble protecting all our files. Web 2.0 is a big part of cloud computing as it involves online programs which we allow us to collaborate with others. I personally like cloud computing. I use GoogleDocs and I am trying to interest my school district in Google Apps for Education. (After all, it's good enough for Brown University...) I know that people feel very concerned about personal files being out on the web, and I never store anything that sensitive in the cloud.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

If you have an iPhone, you can download the app for my blog: http://itunes.apple.com/my/app/bloapp/id436962200?mt=8 and by snapping the QR code on the upper right column of this blog you can add this blog to the app.
This was made possible by Bloapp, which allowed me to create my own app! With my Photoshop knowledge, I was able to create my own header and logo which were the exact dimensions needed. Very cool, wouldn't you say?

Geography-Map Games is a free Flash-based site which tests students' knowledge of world geography. There are many different quizzes offered, from cities of the UK to provinces in Canada. There is a section which tests your knowledge about flags of the world and capitols of the world. Geography-Map-Games can be appreciated by all age groups, with junior versions of U.S. cities, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and Europe. Students must be registered if they want to save their scores.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Here's a great way to supplement your math textbook and keep your students interested--Mudd Math Fun Facts. Hosted by the Harvey Mudd College Math Department, this site currently has 203 fun facts covering algebra, calculus, geometry, probability and more. You can search for a random fact by subject area or by level of difficulty. To those math teachers who thought there wasn't anything on the web for their classes, this is a nice place to start.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Chances are you are quite overwhelmed with all the technology that has bombarded you this school year. I consider myself a real tech geek, and even I have had a headache many times becauseI felt that I just couldn't keep up with how fast Twitter postings, Google Reader postings and web searches arrived on my desktop. With that said, I have narrowed my list down to the 12 basic Web 2.0 tools I feel I can't live without. With so many choices, I kept my list to those apps which are free, easy to learn and use. Basics....just the basics are here. Please add your choices to the comments section at the end of this post.

I found this blog post on the Gift Card Granny website, but it's not related to gift cards. The posting lists 66 businesses which give various discounts to teachers. From the Container Store to J. Crew to Seaworld, discounts are available just for the asking. FYI: You can also find many free things for teachers on my website of teacher resources.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Dropdo is a very simple way to share a file with someone. Just upload to their site, get a URL, and share it with your colleagues and friends. There are even Chrome and Firefox extensions to make the process easier.

Now that summer vacation has arrived, I'm sure you're trying to relax with a good book or catching up on some chores you left behind. I'm taking a few grad courses for professional development and always enjoy having music playing in the background while I work. Pandora has been a favorite, but they seem to play the same songs every time I'm on one of my channels. I came across TuneIn today and found it a great choice. With access to over 50,000 radio stations around the world, TuneIn offers many different types of music, from rock, blues, children's, adult contemporary to talk radio. There is something for everyone, including the TuneIn mobile app, which can be used on the iPad, iPhone, iPod, Android, Blackberry, Palm and more. Free is definitely good.